Removing coal from mines.



E. o'TzooL'E & H. BAVENSQN.

REMUVIHG GOAL PROM MINES.

APPLICATION FILED KYIQ, 1909.

Patented May 10, 1910.

5 BHEETS-BEEET 1.

f nwaNToRS CPAULC,

E. OTOOLE H. N. EAVENSON.

RBMOVING COAL FROM MINES.

APPLICA- NON NLM! MAY 1u. 1209,

Patented May 10, 1910.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. OTOOLE & H. N. EAVENSON.

REMOVING GOAL FROM MINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAYx9,1so9.

Patented May 10, 1910.

5 SHEETS-amm' 3A rg-ZUM OUmxhmvmTons E. OTOOLB & H. N. EAVENSON.

BEMOVING GOAL PROM MINE?.

' APPLICATION E ILBD MA1s.1s09.

Patented May 10, 1910.

WITNESSESI n 6l., e

INVENTOmf .M la? E. OTOOLE a H. N. EAVBNSUN.

REMOVING CGL PROM MINES.

APPLlGLTIOH FILED HAY 19. 1909.

Patented May 10, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

EDWARD 0' 'O(JLE AND HOWARD N. EAVENSON. OF GARY, WEST VIRGINIA. i

REOVING CL FROM MINES.

Specfoatian ot' Rettet Patent.

Patented May 10, 19H).

Application filed M23' 19. 1909. Serial No. 497,111.

To (172 zrliorn. 'it' ma); remfmc.

Be it know: that' we and llowino Gori'. in thi county et' .lcito-wil iu. it. may be mined in lumps which can he l ub--emientiy reduced to the desired size by an)` suitable means.

vlien the coal rej moved in a tine-ly divided condition, a re- States, have invented or di1'-\ered certain i' new and nee-inl Imprattinente iu llemovin, fv

Coal from Mines, of which improvement the following is a. Speciiieai ion.

The invention desrribvd herein relate; to

Certain irr'iprovciirentS in removingl coal from mines.

:coal will be. .sn'ept by the currentA of air It; has been proposed to etici-t a removal 1 t` coal by conducting air unile:l a high pme-4.

surl to the point Where the coal is mined, and to introt uce thtl coal in a tml-ly dnided State into the` returning current of air in au` other conduit or pipe of considerable dimi-u. sions. The method is however mpract icable. as the cost of maintenance of a working pressure sufficient for the long ditances. amountin to miles in some caeex. is prohibitive.

ghe invention described herein has for its object a step by step traniier of the coal by outwardly flowing currents of air preterably produced by exhauet [aus connected to a series of two or more entries one of which is utilized for the transfer ot the coal.

rThe inwntion is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings formingr a part of this specification Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View illustratingr an a 'rangement 0f locks ete. in the heading or entries of a mine and connect ions between Vuch headings or entries whereby a movement ot' coal by' air currents from the machine lo the niouth of the mine is eti'eeted; Fig. 2 is a Sectional View showing a machine in po ition atl the inner end of a heading or entry, and showing a. desirable manner of feeding the coai to the outwardly tion ing current o't` air; Fig. 3 is a eectional pian view of a lock, Figa tand fiar:x y-teetional elevations on planes inoleated respectively bf.' the lines IV -IV and vV-V Fig. 3;, Figs. tf and 7 are sectional views Showing .1 suitable arrangement. of storage bins for shaft; and d rift mines, and Fig. 8 shows end and plan vlewa of a nozzle for the reception of the coal atl the machine.

In the practice oi' our invention the eoai is removed from the vein or body ot coal in afinely divided state. aithongl'., without uepag'ting from the invention described here` through a ASloty 2 lengthwise of the nozzle. This noz/.le is connected by a tube 3 having a telcScopie section -l to the entry or heading 5 which it is desigmd to utilize for the outn'u'd movement. of the coal. This. entry will for convenience be termed the trnnefer ntry. The tube is connected to the entry 5 by a lock formed in the entry and completely closing the same, except for the, passages and chambers hereinafter described. From the tube theI air and coal enter a comparatively .large chamber permitting au expansion and conaequent slowing down of the ate of tion'. to Such an extent that the coal will Settle down into thel bin 7, the air freed from the coal llowing through a passage 8 into the 'entry t) parallel with the entr t a.

' Ae shown the entry o used for the transfer of the coal; is intermediate of entries 9 9 ete. and 10--10n etc., the former being,r connected at. their outer ends to any suitable t'orm of exhaust apparatus whereby outward currents rf air of desired velocity may be nniintained in the entries 0-9 etc. The entries or headings 10-101 etc., serve as intakes for the air.

As shown in Fig. 1 the heading or entry 5 is divided by locks into sect ions of a length dependent upon the carrying capacity/ 0f the current. of air employed, and the number of sections will depend upon the distance from the point where the coal is mined to the mouth oi the entry or heading. The locks arev formed by a transverse n'all 11 closingr the entrv or heading except adjacent to the. roof of the latter. Beyond this wall toward the mouth of the entry theplatz-l coal has accumulated in the bin formed by chamber 12. At. a su'itable distance beyond Y to the out-take or exhaust, passages 9--9xi etc.

As the coal-laden currents of air tiow froml the tube 3 or one of the sections of the transfer entry or heading 5 into the expansion chamber through the opening above the wall 11 its rate of llow will lessen to such an extent that the coal will drop into the bin. From the expansion chamber the air V freed from the coal will flow from the expansion chamber by the branch 2O into the 'exhaust or outtake entries or headings, as to maintain an outward tiow of air through the section or tube behind the lock through which the air and coal entered the expansion chamber.

After the desired amount of coal has accumulated in the bin the door 15 will drop, allowing the coal to flow down into chamber 13 where it will encounter and be carried on by a current'. of air flowing in from the intake 10--10a etc. through the tube 19 andout through the tube 18 into the next section of the transfer entr or heading and to the next lock, where the rate of flow of this current is checked and the coal deposited in 'the bin of said lock. This step ay step movement of the coal insures a ractieally uniform rate of movement from t e mining machine to the storage bin at the mouth of the mine, and by separating the coal from a current of air before a detrimental retardation occurs and causing it to be carried forward by another current having a. rate greater than that of the first current at the time when the coal is separated from it, the average rate of movement will be high. The headings or entries 9 9 are large as comared with the passage in the entry or headlng 5 through which the coal moves, so

that by employing such entries or headings as exhaust passages a comparatively high veocity of air can be maintained with a mini mum expenditure of ower. Although any given quantity of coal)is frequently stopped in its movement to the mouth of the mine, there will be a constant movement of coal throughout the whole distance.

It, will be understood that the vacuum or out-take entries will not have any'counection with the transfer entry except; at the locks. The in-take entries are connected to the transfer entry not only at the locks but also at some point between the iii-st lock and the point where the machine is operating, so that there may be a flow of air in through the nozzle 1.

In adapting our method to any mine it is believed that a vacuum represented by about fourteen inches of the barometer will produce a suflicient rate of flow of air for the sectional transfer of the coal, but it will be understood that lower vacuum and n higher rate of flow can be employed. At the beginning of the operation the first section of the transfer entr will begin to fill up from the end where t e coal and air enter, and this filling will continue until only a comparatively small passage through the stion re mains. The transverse dimensions of this passage will depend upon the velocity of the current employed. This filling up will continue from section to section until a passage proportioned to the rate of flow is formed throughout the entire length of the transfer entry 5. After the formation of the passage the movement of the coal will be continuous and uniform, while the vacuum remains stationary. In case the vacuum is increased, producing a higher rate of flow of air, the air will ick up some of the coal previously deposited), thus enlarging the passage through the entry proportional to the increased rate of flow. If the rate of tiow is decreased there will be a gradual and proessive filling up of the passage 'sutil its imensions are again brought to operative limits.

After the establishment of the locks and their connections te the out-take and in-take entries the operation of moving the coal will bc entirely automatic except for the insertion of new lengths in. the tube 3 connecting the inlet nozzle l with the first. lock of the Series, as the mining machine moves in. The cost of operation will be little if any in excess of that now incurred in the ventilation of the mines by the exhaust fans.

It will bo readily understood .by those skilled in the art that in lieu of forming the assages through which the coal is carried,

y Aartially filling'the entries or headings, sai passages may be formed by tubes extendin along the entries or headings. But in sucrh case the tubes will have internal dimensions proportional or approximately proportional to the rate of the current of air te be employed in the transfer of coal.

The outer end of the outer section of the transfer entry is formed by a storage bin 21 of sutlicient capacity having suitable discharge chutes 2 2 for directing the coal into cars. This bin is connected to the exhaust apparatus, and if desired, the entire exhaust from the mine can be through the storage bin,. the out-take or vacuum entries being connected thereto, or both the bin and the out-take entries can be connected to the ex.- haust apparatus.

The term passage is used herein ge I the point ot' admission, thereby forming a. 50 :wrirally and includes a continuous opening series of .streams or currents ot' air flowing lic-ther formed hy partially tilling a headi outwardly along the passage, and -feeding ing or ent or formed by a tubeextending j coal in a fixa-1y divided condition to such 5 along a heading or entry. currents.

It will he readily scenhy those skilled in 3. An improvement in the ."rt of removing 55 th art of mining that thiis` pneumatic system i coal from mines which consists in establishof eonieyiug coal at the same time furnishes i ing I1 the mill@ 11 SLlieS 0f OtIWaI'dLV-lle#fing I the most perfect system of ventilation thatf currents of air at or approximately at atmoscan he devised. The air enters the mine phcric pressure and feeding the coa! to such through the passages 1G, 10 etc., moving in Currents of air in succession. 6o them with moderate velocity, and is conduet- 1 si. An improvement in the artJ of remov-4 ed directly to the face of the working plac ing coal from mines which consists in causwthont employing any brattiees or other y iuga current-of aii te more outwardly in the means of directing its motion. '-.\t the face mine, feeding coal in a finely divided state 0f the WO1-king .placef where it enters the i to such stream, :'nfi automatically changing 65 tube. the velocity is enormously increased the dimensions of the passage traversed by mi my gne that. may he given ott' bv the l the air in accordance with variations in the coal and all dust created by the mining onu i rate of flow of the air current. y.

: chine. wid be instantly arried into the tube .-L mine eoniisting of a headiug'or enwith the coal. The capacity ot the tube in try for the reductien of air pressure, an- 70 ear-h 'working place will he ample for .e other heading er entry for the free inflow of the most gaseous place. .Tn addition to the air, a third entry divided into sections,` and air flou-ineat the Iace of each working place, i means t'or the admission of air from the in- 23 a quantity ,of air will be withdrawn from take entry to the forward end of each Seclhc headings 10, 1U ete.. at cach lock. thas tion, and means permittingr it to csca'pe'into l5 causing a constant circulation of fresh air the out-take entry at the rear end of each' throughout the mine. i section.

lt will he read'l t3. A mine consisting o'f an entry extendny understood that with 1his system ot' taining all' langer of exploing,r to the working face and divided into a sion-. caused hy gas or dust will disappear, plurality of sections, a second entry eon- 80 and thenl will he. no necessity of using nected to such sections, means. for reducing safety lamps in the working places, as all the pressure of air in sueli Second entry and gas will h1- instantly carried oil' through the a third or intake entry extending to the passages and that no stoppings or hratticcs working face and connected to the said seewill he required. tiens, whereby air is caused to How into-the 85 'e claim herein as ol r inventiou working face and outwardiy therefrom. 1. As an improvement in the art of remov In testimony whereof, we have hereunto ing coal from mines a method which consists set our hands.

40 in subita-ting the coal to a series of currents I'IDXVAHD OVTOOLE.

ol' air at atmospheric pressure acting in sac- }I()\VARD N. EAVENSON.'

cession thereon. \\"itnesses as to signature of Edward L. .\n improrcuwut in the art ol. removing l Toolc: Y

coal from mim-s. ulrich consisls in admitingr ll- E- 'rOUDS,

air ha rin;r a pressure not `f''catcr than atmosl A. E. Stimmt-RNE.

plu-rj.- PW--anh [o a pam-.gfi-xu-oding along \\'itnesse.-,- as to signature of Howard'N. the mino al dill'crcnt points there alon` iavcnson: v wiilulrawiugthe air from the passage a. a Fin-3|;- D. Bloralm,

lower prever.- aufl :n points: distant l'icz:` t li. N. Runnin 

